"Son of the Morning Star" is the 1991 made-for-cable film starring Gary Cole as the arrogant and flamboyant General Custer, fresh from his victories during the Civil War and now sent West to subdue the Plains Indians in the bid for western expansion by a growing United States. Custer is idolized by the American public, but often despised by his own men, particularly Captain Will Benteen, who sees Custer as a egotistical fop more concerned with his own glory than with his own mens' lives.
Custer and the 7th Cavalry are sent west to force the Cheyenne and Lakota Sioux onto reservations, thus opening up their homelands to prospectors and settlement. The Indians however, fight back. Following his bloody "victory" at the Wachita River and numerous other exploits, Custer is sent by President Grant to pacifiy the Black Hills Region of the Dakotas, and to crush the growing Indian resistance there. This proves to be his last campaign, leading to his reckless bid for glory and fame at the Little Big Horn where thousands of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors lead by Crazy Horse annihilate Custer and the 7th Cavalry.
Though a great victory for the Indians, as so many times in the past, even this stunning achievement only strengthens the Army's resolve and would lead to the end of the Indians way of life. Custer has been romanticized as an American hero by some and decried as a murdering villain by others. The man and the battle continue to haunt us and this excellent retelling of a momentous event in the history of the west is well done and well worth watching.
Gary Cole is very good- although he does not look like a horseman. Unfortunatly, Rosanna Arquette, who plays Libbie Custer the General's wife, seems just to be interested in collecting a paycheck. She is as wooden as it gets. However, I think David Strathairn, a regular of John Sayles' films, does an excellent job as Capt. Benteen. Although, the horrendous wig he is outfited with detracts from his performance, he does capture, IMHO, the cranky complainer personality of Benteen very well. (Anyone familiar with the writings of Fred Benteen can tell you he WAS angry with the world.)
"Son of the Morning Star" relied on the services of dedicated re-enactors who brought a sense of authenticity to the uniforms and equipment not seen in other Little Bighorn movie re-creations. Unfortunatly, although re-enactors are great at dressing their parts, they don't often look their parts- the 7th Cavarly was not as heavily populated with middle-aged, overweight men as "Son of the Morning Star" would have you believe.
Finally, the outfit Gary Cole is wearing for the Little Big Horn scenes is based on an actual photo. In 1875, a picture was taken of Custer at a picnic near Ft. Lincoln wearing a hat and a white buckskin jacket, which look alot what was depicted in the movie. Of course, we don't know if Custer wore that outfit a year later, but that photo shows that the producers for the movie just didn't make it up. However, the movie's Little Big Horn scenes show Gary Cole with his face shaven and hair immacutely clean, conditioned, and styled. Hardly realistic.
